An in-class assignment so inspired a Unionville-Chadds Ford student that he took its message to the next level.

As an eighth grader at Charles F. Patton Middle School, 15-year-old Brendan Boyle participated in the Patton Gives Back project.

Run by teachers Betsy Ballard and Kim Hisler, the program embraced and tackles greater community needs by working with nonprofits to help the community.

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While in the program, Brendan helped to create quilts and pillowcases for children at AI Dupont Hospital for Children. He also worked in the raised gardening beds outside Patton to provide food for the FCS class and to donate to the Kennett Food Cupboard.

Around the same time, Brendan’s mother worked through her church to create sandwiches that they then delivered in person to a homeless shelter in Delaware.

“When she came back, she was amazed at how happy and excited the people were,” Brendan said. “How grateful they were for just a sandwich. So we thought it would be a great idea to start this at the high school.”

Brendan then wrote up a proposal that he submitted to the district’s administration and the high school PTO: make 1,000 sandwiches for Safe Harbor in West Chester over the summer, when its need is greatest.

“We’re a wealthy community, and I feel like we should give back,” he said. “We’re lucky to be in this situation; meanwhile some people are struggling just to eat, just to get food.”

Once his proposal was approved, the fundraising began in earnest. After receiving a $250 donation from the high school PTO, Brendan turned to district food service manager Marie Wickersham for the supplies.

“She got us the meat and cheese and the rubber gloves,” he said. “The rest we just bought at Costco. We’re going to try to contact Herr’s and other places to see if they would like to contribute.”

He also enlisted Ballard and Hisler to assist, using the FCS classroom and lettuce from their gardens when making the sandwiches; they in turn enlisted parent Marybeth Tryens, who has the food handler’s license requited to get the project going.

Brendan’s goal is to see the 1,000 Sandwiches project continue as a summer club, and with a little brother entering third grade in the fall, he is hoping for a legacy to emerge by the time he graduates four years from now.

“Once he graduates, I guess we’ll see,” he said.

Working with a group of parent, student and administration volunteers, Brendan’s hope is to make 100 sandwiches per session, with one to two sessions scheduled per week throughout the summer months.

“It could go up to 200, but 100 is the bare minimum,” he said. “The goal is between 500 and 1,000 for the summer, depending on the rest of the funding.”

“We’ve got graduates, parents, students all giving up their time during their summer break,” Ballard said. “The first day of summer break and they’re all here. I just think it’s such a great thing.”

“As he was saying, we live in a fairly well-off community, and so the fact that there are people out there that this could be their only meal for the day really made an impression on the kids,” said Brendan’s father Tom Boyle. “For the kids to get a chance to give back like this, I think, is a great opportunity,”

To donate or volunteer for the project, contact Ballard at bballard@ucfsd.org.